Jam Packed Week!

My parents came to visit us this past week and it has been so awesome! I have been looking forward to this week ever since we found out we were moving. My parents arrived Monday afternoon after a long drive split into two days. Thankfully, my sister lives in Boise so the 10 hours can be broken up without having to get a hotel room.

We have yet to experience a lot of Portland ourselves, but I wanted to try to do as many things as possible! Mathew had to work the first few days in the week, so I didn't want to do too much without him, but we still made the most of our time without him!

Tuesday we drove into Portland and stopped at some food carts. Those are crazy! There are so many different carts with exotic foods. I was really excited to try something new and out of my comfort zone...but then we walked around and looked at the carts and I officially did not want to try anything out of the ordinary. This may sound totally rude but some of those guys in their food carts were totally scary and I didn't really want them making my food. So I opted for a fancy grilled cheese. And it was DELICIOUS. Definitely the best grilled cheese I've ever had.

A nice comforting, clean cart.

My mom went a little exotic and got some weird French sausage hot dog thing. She didn't like it. She should have got a grilled cheese.

A view of a few more carts.

She wasn't so excited about the food carts.

After the food carts, we drove up to Washington Park and went to the Japanese Gardens. While there was some beautiful scenery, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bored. Still glad we went though!

Showing Ellie the cool water.

My dad loves Ellie like crazy. It is so much fun to watch him play with her.

We headed back home and I saw this Target. I thought it was so cool to see one in a city like that. Three floors of Target! Awesome! Someday I will get Mathew to go downtown with me so I can explore more.

On Wednesday, my mom and I did some pre-Black Friday shopping. I needed some clothes and I wanted to get some things for Ellie for Christmas, so we went to Old Navy for their pre-sale and so I could use a reward. It was so fun to go shopping with my mom like we used to! We also bought a Christmas tree that night and now our house smells like Christmas!

Thursday was (duh) Thanksgiving. I was a bit nervous to be the hostess this year but luckily it was just my parents and us so it really wasn't a big deal. I just felt like it was. My mom and I worked super hard in the morning and cooked a ton of food for just four people. I tried to talk her out of a few things but she would not have Thanksgiving without them. I decided to take on the mashed potatoes as one of my main responsibilities. I have wanted to make Pioneer Woman's mashed potatoes ever since my aunt gave me her cookbook at my bridal shower. However, with 1.5 sticks of butter, half and half, and a block of cream cheese, I just couldn't justify it, until this Thanksgiving. Let me tell you, they are AMAZING. Totally worth the calories.

Moving on.

Since I didn't want to go Black Friday shopping alone, I convinced my parents to go with me while Mathew stayed home with Ellie. (I confess I went shopping at 8 p.m. Thursday, I feel kind of guilty but the day was over and there wasn't really much else to do, and I know as an associate, the more customers, the faster the shift goes, and that's all of my excuses)

Friday was my mom's birthday! Happy Birthday mom! We did some more shopping and then drove to Multnomah Falls then she chose Red Robin for her birthday dinner.

Bundled up after dinner.

Saturday was our biggest day. We had been wanting to go to the zoo all week but Ellie's afternoon nap always got in the way. Since it was our last chance to go, we just decided to skip the nap and head out. She was exhausted but was SO good the whole time. We have started facing her out in her stroller and she loves it. The zoo was so much fun. We got some amazing views of some animals. I'm a total kid at heart when it comes to zoos. We stayed after the zoo closed for the zoo lights. They were so amazing. Way better than the temple square lights. My dad commandeered my camera and took a whole bunch of pictures so I'll just share a few.

My mom has decided she loves birds, so she really liked the aviary.

After we saw the last animal, I put Ellie in the wrap and she passed out. She missed most of the lights, but I was just glad she got some sleep.

The Wizard of Oz characters!

She woke up at the end. This was a big long tunnel of lights.

I am going to be so sad when my parents leave in the morning. This has been one packed week and we are worn out for sure, but I am so so so grateful for the time I had with my parents this week! It has also given me some motivation to go out and do some more adventuring in Portland! We didn't even make a  dent in how many things there are to do.